If the Salt Lake District Attorney's Office has its way, four-time DUI offender Robert Van Dyke will stand trial for the Jan. 28 accident that killed 33-year-old Michelle Bradley.
But if defense attorney Ronald Yengich has his way, the District Attorney's Office will have to honor a plea agreement offered by a prosecutor who has since been taken off the case.
At issue is the tentative deal offered by prosecutor Howard Lemcke before he was removed from the case, partly at the request of the crash victims.
According to court records, Lemcke and Yengich discussed the agreement Sept. 18 in open court. The offer would have allowed Van Dyke to plead guilty to two third-degree felonies and face up to 10 years in prison, rather than stand trial for second-degree automobile homicide and third-degree felony DUI and risk up to 20 years behind bars.
And although Lemcke is no longer prosecuting the case, Yengich said Tuesday the state should keep its word and honor the agreement.
But Salt Lake District Attorney David Yocom said the agreement is not enforceable because it was not approved through the proper channels.
A Plea Agreement Review Committee must approve negotiations in cases involving any first-degree felonies and some second-degree felonies, Yocom said. The group of prosecutors must also approve settlements on cases involving child sex abuse, public officials and select others.
Yocom said the committee disagreed with Lemcke's interpretation of the case and rejected the agreement. Meanwhile, Lemcke had presented it to Yengich and Van Dyke.
Bradley's family members learned of the proposed plea agreement while watching the evening news. Unhappy at the idea of Van Dyke "getting off easy," they started making phone calls to anybody who would listen, family friend Elizabeth Dresen said Tuesday.
"We didn't want to plea bargain at all," Dresen said. "We wanted him tried to the fullest extent of the law."
Because the agreement had not been approved, Yocom said the family had no reason to become upset.
"Of course they became very agitated and annoyed, but the agreement here was never made, so they were kind of told prematurely," Yocom said.
This case comes at a time when victims' constitutional rights are in the spotlight. The 1994 Rights of Crime Victims Act gives victims the right to be heard at all important hearings related to their cases.
A recent plea agreement in Tooele County allowed a child sex abuser to plead guilty to a class A misdemeanor rather than the original first-degree felony charge. Family members of the 12-year-old victim say they were not allowed to object to the "unduly lenient" agreement, and filed a motion to set aside the plea.
Judge David L. Young denied the motion, saying the family's rights were afforded when they were allowed to speak at the abuser's sentencing.
Yocom said victims and victims' families always play a role in plea negotiations, although they never have the final say.
"We advise them and try to explain to them as best we can why it's necessary to do it," he said.
Van Dyke's case has been reassigned to prosecutor Kent Morgan, Yocom said, and the state is ready to proceed.
"We can prove the elements of the crime, and when Mr. Morgan goes to trial, that's exactly what we will do," Yocom said.
E-MAIL: awelling@desnews.com